An English sixth rate at anchor RMG PW6936

HMY ''Saudadoes'' was a

royal yacht A royal yacht is a ship used by a monarch or a royal family. If the monarch is an emperor the proper term is imperial yacht. Most of them are financed by the government of the country of which the monarch is head. The royal yacht is most often c ...

built in 1670 on the orders of King Charles II of England for his Queen, Catherine of Braganza. It was used for pleasure trips on the Thames and to maintain communications with the Queen's homeland of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, making the journey twice.

Service

As built the yacht had an approximate tonnage of 86 tons, drawing , with a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and a

length overall __NOTOC__ Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, an ...

of . The vessel was more than doubled in tonnage to 188 tons when rebuilt in 1674, becoming a

sixth-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a sixth-rate was the designation for small warships mounting between 20 and 28 carriage-mounted guns on a single deck, sometimes with smaller guns on the upper works and ...

of 16 guns. This "rebuild" may in fact denote the transfer of the name to a completely different vessel: "This vessel is supposed to have been commissioned as a substitute for a yacht, and specially destined to the queen's use. The idea appears in some measure confirmed, by a note relative to captain Jennifer's appointment, in which it is said to have been made by the queen herself." Captain John Jennifer was appointed to command ''Saudadoes'' in December 1674. He later commanded at the Battle of Beachy Head in 1690. ''Saudadoes'' after being re-built in 1674, was commissioned as HMS ''Saudadoes'' (some sources spell the name ''Soldado'') under command of

John Graydon Vice-Admiral John Graydon ( – 12 March 1726) was an English officer of the Royal Navy. He was active during the Nine Years War and the War of the Spanish Succession. Life In June 1686 Graydon was appointed lieutenant of ; in May 1688 first l ...

taking part in the Battle of Bantry Bay in May 1689, as a

fireship A fire ship or fireship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, or gunpowder deliberately set on fire and steered (or, when possible, allowed to drift) into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy sh ...

. The 'Soldado's coxswain, a young sailor John Dann, later deserted and joined

Henry Every Henry Every, also known as Henry Avery (20 August 1659after 1696), sometimes erroneously given as Jack Avery or John Avery, was an English pirate who operated in the Atlantic and Indian oceans in the mid-1690s. He probably used several aliases ...

in what became known as the most profitable raid in history. In September 1692 she captured a French ship which was renamed HMS ''Saudadoes Prize''.

Name

The vessel's unusual name is Portuguese (correctly '' Saudades''). The name was evidently chosen by Queen Catherine herself, and gives an insight into her character expressing deep feelings of wistful longing for an absent person or place left behind. The spelling of this ship's name in naval documents varies: usually Saudadoes, but sometimes Sandadoe, Sandadoes, Sandados, Sandados, Saudados, Soldadoes, Soldados, Suadades, or Suadadoes.

References

Royal Yachts of the Kingdom of England 1670s ships {{UK-mil-ship-stub